Event Manager - Maggiano's-Durham

Our establishment is a renowned venue known for hosting a wide range of exceptional banquet and event services. We cater to a diverse clientele seeking memorable experiences, whether for corporate functions, weddings, conferences, or social gatherings. Our team prides itself on delivering high-quality service in a professional and welcoming environment, ensuring every event we host meets our high standards and exceeds guest expectations. As a leader in the hospitality industry, we continuously strive to innovate our event offerings and operational procedures, creating seamless and successful occasions for our clients.

The Event Manager role is an integral part of our operations, responsible for the detailed planning, coordination, and flawless execution of all banquet events. This position takes full ownership of each event once it has been booked, managing everything from room setup and seating arrangements to event timelines and staffing coordination. By collaborating closely with the Sales Manager, Culinary team, and Restaurant Leadership, the Event Manager ensures that every aspect of the event aligns with both the client's needs and the company’s service standards. This role demands strong organizational skills, an ability to multitask under pressure, and excellent communication capabilities to lead and support teams effectively.

In this capacity, the Event Manager reviews contracts and banquet event orders (BEOs) for accuracy, creates and manages event layouts, seating charts, and schedules banquet staff appropriately to meet event size and service requirements. On event days, the Event Manager leads execution on the ground, serving as the primary contact for hosts, ensuring events start on time, and run according to plan. This hands-on leadership role also involves conducting pre-event meetings with various teams to review logistics and service expectations ensuring smooth coordination and execution.

Operationally, the Event Manager develops, communicates, and enforces standard operating procedures for banquet service, hires and trains staff, and manages team performance to maintain high service standards. They ensure banquet rooms are set correctly per diagrams and guest specifications, maintain inventory of linens, audiovisual equipment, and other resources, and partner with the culinary team to coordinate food timing and menu execution.

Financially, the Event Manager monitors banquet profitability, controlling labor, food costs, and overall expenses. They support menu pricing and updates and review event performance to implement service recovery if necessary. Tracking guest experience metrics and key performance indicators is a critical part of understanding and improving service quality continuously.

Additionally, this role requires strong cross-functional partnerships with sales, IT, and vendor partners to ensure clean event handoffs, timely communication regarding changes, and smooth operation of banquet systems including phones, printers, and CRM tools. Maintaining accurate banquet event systems, room setup libraries, and menu documentation is essential to support operational efficiency. The ability to analyze reports related to revenue, lost or repeat business, and guest feedback drives informed decision-making.

This role demands a highly flexible schedule, including the capability to work nights, weekends, and holidays to accommodate event needs. The Event Manager plays a vital role in creating memorable experiences for our guests, fostering excellence in service, and ensuring our banquet operations run seamlessly from start to finish, making this an exciting and rewarding opportunity within our hospitality team.